Week 4, Pyschosocial Experience of Immigration : Sarah Arriola

I can't imagine having to immigrate to another country. When I was 10, I moved from Utah to Ohio, which was stressful enough for me. I had to leave my old friends and make new ones, as well as adjust to smaller town living and the general differences between Ohio and Utah. Kids would ask me all sorts of questions, because I "talked funny." This didn't bother me too much, but it did get tiring having to always explain why it was that I didn't talk like everyone else. But at least I spoke the same language as everyone else in my class and therefore was able to understand their questions and answer them in a way that they understood. If I'd have had to learn a new language when I moved, I think the move would have been much more difficult. Also, because I was only moving within the United States, I had to adjust a little bit to the differences in the culture between the two states, but not to differences between two counties, which is obviously much more extreme. I am so proud of my mentee just because I know that she has been through the process of immigration and seems to have come out fairly well on the other side.

My mentee, Hawa, was actually born in the United States, which she didn't know until she was eight years old. She was under the impression that she was born in Africa, because both of her parents are from Africa and she moved to Africa from the United States when she was only four. Hawa, her mother and her twin brother, moved back to the United States when she was seven. She left her father, several siblings, and other extended family in Africa. So, even though Hawa is not technically a foreign-born immigrant, she has still had to experience many of the same things that foreign-born immigrants have to go through. Also, although she was born here, in her mind, she is an immigrant.

All of us are different, just because these kids are immigrants or children of immigrants doesn't mean they're not still valuable human beings.

Hawa speaks both French and English. I think it would be really cool to speak multiple languages, although I unfortunately do not. Although, I think it would be very stressful to have to learn to speak another language just so that you could speak to some of your classmates and other people in the world around you. It can benefit immigrants to learn to speak the language of their new country because, as Vaughn says in her book, "Language is thought to be a direct reflection of culture, reinforcing our world views and cultural thoughts, values, and behaviors" (86). Therefore, if an immigrant can learn to speak the language of their new country, they can more easily understand the new culture that they live in and can adjust better to their new home.

Another thing I found interesting was in Vaughn, when it was discussed whether or not being multilingual is harmful to people, particularly children. When I first read that, I was concerned about Hawa, because she already speaks two languages, French and English, and because she is so amazing, also desires to learn how to speak Spanish. I was relieved when I read that studies have been done that say that "being multilingual has no negative effects on intelligence and in fact, may improve cognitive flexibility" (86). I have always been taught that being multilingual was a positive thing as far as intelligence goes, so it was nice to see that backed up in Vaughn's book.

Another issue that Hawa has had to deal with because of her immigration situation is the separation and unification that Suarez-Orozco (2x) discuss in chapter 3 of their book. Like I explained earlier, Hawa currently lives with her mother and twin brother here in Cincinnati. Her father and other siblings still live in Africa. She is not part of the 20 percent that Suarez-Orozco (2x) discusses which "came to the United States as a family unit" (66). Rather she is in the 15 percent that "comes to the U.S. with one parent" (67). Thankfully though, even though she doesn't live with her father, she has told me that usually during the summer, she gets to go to Africa to visit her father and other family members. This probably means that, although I can imagine it is difficult for her to not see her father every day, she is not as affected by it as other immigrant children who never get to see the parent that they left behind in their home country.

Hawa and I, after homework and coloring!

Hawa has already had to deal with a lot in the first 10 years of her life, a lot more than I have had to deal with in the first 20 years of my life, and, if we are being honest, probably will ever have to deal with. Despite that, she still acts like what I expect any U.S.-born 10-year-old child to act like. She fights with her brother, likes to play video games, struggles with some subjects in school, and likes to color (which we did together on Monday after she finished her homework). I can't wait to get to know Hawa even better, because I really do think she is an amazing little girl.